Weathering tips?

I think you did a fine job.  To get a dusty weathered look i think you'd be better to use artist chalks.  Otherwise you'd need an airbrush. To use the chalks simply scrape some off the chalk stick into a container and use a cheap fine brush to apply it to the model.  You can "fix" chalk with clear coat but it tends to obscure most of it.  I've had luck with just the chalk as long as youre not handling the model much. Have fun!

Agree with pastel chalks. I use Pan Pastel with one of my wife's old very soft makeup brushes.

I spray  Clearkote (sp?) matte first to give the chalk some "tooth" to grab onto. Then I apply the chalk when the Clearkote is almost dry but not totally dry. I apply a little more chalk than necessary because the final Clearkote spray tends to mute the effect somewhat. Practice makes perfect - or so I'm told.

Dan

Nice job - when it comes to weathering consider that "less is more".

Printing white decals on clear paper that doesn't show through generally requires a white printer/cartridge which can be expensive - you check out Micro Mark to see if they still offer one.

Quality decal sheets, including white, for most railroads can be had from suppliers like K4 Decals and are relatively inexpensive. 

@RadioRon posted:

Don't try it.  Sorry to say, but most people suck at it.

Ron,

I hear ya, but ...

Along those lines and while we're at it, maybe all of us shouldn't try any kind of modifying, upgrading, repainting, renumbering, scratchbuilding, or other such ridiculous antics that have pushed our shared hobby, and our individual skills, forward so nicely over the years.

We might mess it up.

Remember this:  From abject failure always comes brilliant success, although it takes most of a few iterations to eventually get there.  It's called learning.

Matt, Just do it -- and if you fail try again.  No pain, no gain.

Remember the encouraging words of a small, underpowered locomotive facing a big task; words captured so eloquently for us by QSI, I think it was for for MTH or Weaver, in a way only we in this hobby can truly appreciate:

     "I think I can" (4/1/20) | H1000

Mike

Here’s some examples of my weathering work. I love doing  it & say go for it!

I haven’t weathered any locomotives or rolling stock at this time. I have found Pan Pastels easy and forgiving to work with. I used it for all my buildings with excellent results.

Gene

I was going to comment about the comment above, but its probably not worth bothering with.

As far as weathering stuff goes, those walmart/michaels acrylic paints have a purpose, but weathering models made of plastic usually isnt it.  They tend to bead up and dry in the manner you ended up with because they sit on the surface in a pool of water, and what you're left with when the water dries is what you get.  They work much better on porous materials like wood or plaster.

The other glaring thing that I see is that the streaks are not vertical.  Weathering does not occur at speed.  Always drag the brush straight down when doing streaks.

You're better off playing with chalks, or if you want to do streaky effects, oil paints. If you have an air brush, you gain the added dimension of being able to fade paint with overcoats.

Chalk is forgiving because even when it looks heavy, when you set it with dull coat most of it will disappear (you can also get it off with alcohol, but make sure the alcohol wont also eat your paint).

Oils are forgiving so long as they're still wet as you can always run a thinner loaded brush over the model and take paint away.

Airbrushing on fades or dirt coats *can* be forgiving if you mix it right (use a little paint and A LOT of thinner).

In all cases, you can add more easier than you can take it off.

There are many tutorials on Youtube and the like about how to weather trains by various methods.  Get yourself some $5-10 cars (scale is irrelevant for practice) and play around, you cant totally screw it up as you can always go back over it.

@86TA355SR posted:

Custom modified brass models built, painted, and weathered by myself.  Paint only-no chalks, no powder or etc.

These look amazing! I've been trying to build some vanderbilt tenders for some of my C&MW engines like that 2527 you got there, made a few prototypes so now I know what I need to do to build one.

Weathering doesn’t need to be perfect. In real life its certainly not.

Search the forum for examples of techniques people use and find one that works for you. The more knowledge of the hobby you gain, the more expansive it becomes.

Matt, just keep at it. Try multiple methods and see what works for you. As mentioned. Pickup some junk shells to practice on.  One thing to keep in mind about weathering. It’s designed to make the details pop better. On models without a lot of added on separately applied detail. It’s a bit harder to pull off. Then again. Most don’t want to practice on highly detailed models. Best thing is. Your comfortable enough to repaint. Most weathering is easily removed as long as it’s not sealed with a clear.

On your project engine. The details you want to stand out. Are all the louvers, hindges and such on the carbody. This is where you need to concentrate. Norm Charbonneau has a good You Tube video on weathering a diesel. I would pickup some Tamiya Panel Line Accent. Norm demonstrates it. But there are a lot of tutorials on using it.

"We might mess it up.

Remember this:  From abject failure always comes brilliant success, although it takes most of a few iterations to eventually get there.  It's called learning.

Matt, Just do it -- and if you fail try again.  No pain, no gain."

Edison made 2,774 attempts to arrive at the bamboo filament that made his lightbulbs a commercial success.  So he "failed" 2773 times.  And, no telling how many materials he tried BEFORE settling on bamboo as the basic material.